8m old - feeding enough?

[delhibelly]

My DS is 8 months old. He is BF but now having 3 good meals a day - we are doing BLW.
I have been feeding him to schedule rather than on demand for quite a while because apart from the initial constant feeding of the first few weeks he just didn't really demand, though will happily feed when offered. It's also definitely made the return to work easier. He's been tracking the 50th centile with no problems.

I've been back at work a couple of months now and his day goes like this:
0730 - BF (I express one side first for him to have later)
0800 - Breakfast
1000 - Nap for 1 hour
1100 - Nanny gives him 5oz expressed milk from a cup (he won't drink from a bottle but that's another story...)
1300 - I come home for lunch and he eats with me
1345 -BF
1430 - Nap for an hour
1730 - Dinner
1830 - bath then BF then bed
2230 - BF
He sleeps ok at the moment - will usually wake at least once but will go back to sleep following a cuddle, or come into our bed. He doesn't usually seem to need feeding.

So, all working well but this weekend I forgot to feed him at 1100 (normally I'd feed him as I'm around and I keep the expressed milk in the freezer for nights out). He was absolutely fine, his usual smiley self, no whinging no nothing. I realised as we were about to have lunch - which he ate fine and then Bfed well at 2.

So I think my question is, does that mean he doesn't need an 11am milk feed?
Should I still give it to him?
Is feeding at 7.30, 1345, 1830 and 2230 enough for an 8m old?

It's very hard to tell when to drop a feed when he never really demanded them in the first place!

Your help would be much appreciated. I'm abroad so no handy health visitors to ask.

[Feliena]

my 9 month old goes like this

7am- 1 wheatabix, fromage frai and fruit

9am- offer 9 oz milk, sually drinks it all

9-10- sleep

10.30 - snack ie banana

12 - lunch usually a 10+ baby jar

3- 9oz milk offered, sometimes wont have any

4- tea, ie bread and butter, rice pudding and fruit

6.30 - 7oz bottle
hope thats some help!

[TittyBojangles]

My DS is 8 1/2mo and has usually 3 bf a day (occasionally 4, very occasionally 2). We are doing BLW and he eats well, usually 3 times a day.

Anyway, none of that is really relevant as we all know babies are so different. But I'd say that if your DS seems fine without that feed then try dropping it? Or maybe reduce the amount of ebm he has? Just try it and see how it goes, nothing stopping you reinstating the feed if you feel he needs/wants it.

I'm sorry this post is so unhelpful!

[TittyBojangles]

Also meant to say that 8am til 1pm would be quite a long time without any food/milk, so might be better to move breakfast a little later/lunch a bit earlier if you were to drop the 11am feed.

[delhibelly]

Thank you very much for your help - it's good to know what others are doing. My lunch hour is not really flexible which is why he has his at 1 and I like to give him his breakfast when I have mine so it needs to be before I leave for work. Maybe something's going to have to give - perhaps it's time to hand over the daily game of dodge the weetabix to our nanny....

[Tarlia]

Or perhaps a snack of fruit/yogurt/crackers and cheese/hummus and cucumber etc at 10.30/11 with a small drink of cows milk.

I know uk advice is bm/formula until 12 months, but you are not in the uk. Here they say that at 9 months baby can have a small drink of cows milk with snacks/meal so long as they are not replacing formula/bm morning/evening feeds.

[TittyBojangles]

I'd do what Tarlia suggests. I think the uk advice is cows milk shouldnt be a 'main' drink til 12 months i.e replacing bm/fm so it would be fine and is what I am intending to do with DS while he is at nursery when I return to work at 10mo and so avoiding expressing etc.

[Mummy2Noah]

Only you know what is best for your own baby. However I think an 8m old would need more milk. At that age most calories should still come from milk.

[BenRoo]

I have an 8 month old who feeds anywhere between 6-8 times a day whilst I'm not at work (including once or twice in the night).
But on the days I'm at work his schedule is this:
7am breakfast
7.30am bf (sometimes this is missed)
9.30 snack
11.30 ebm (approx 3oz)
12 lunch
2 ebm (approx 3oz)
2.30 snack
4.30 tea
5 ebm/formula 1-3oz
6 bath (sometimes a quick bf if he's grizzly)
6.30 bf then bed
11-12 bf
Then 2 or 3 bf's in the night (we co-sleep)
He feeds more in the night as a) he's either missed me or b) he needs to top on milk.
I've agonised over whether this is right,but like your LO he follows the 50th centile happily so we know just plod on with it
We're desperately want to cut out the night feeds but it's difficult on my work days because I need to ensure he's getting adequate milk and I'm so tired!

Every baby is different so as long as your LO is happy I'd go with your gut